I decided to go scouting yesterday in an effort to check out some area that was rumored to have a heard of elk around it. I had checked out some of the area a couple years ago when my wife went with me to do some elk hunting. She wasn’t hunting, I was. She didn’t want me out there alone since anything can happen. I wasn’t worried, but it was nice to have her along. I know she got bored at times but we still had fun and I think she liked seeing all of the beautiful scenery. The last time we went up there though, I got a sinus infection from a below-freezing night in a 3-season tent. The vents at the top are where the air came in and it came right down on our faces. My body was warm enough, but my face felt like it would crack off the whole night. The next day I was running a fever and my sinuses hurt like hell. We ended up going home that day, but we had managed to cover a decent amount of ground so all was not lost.
This time, however, I was scouting solo. I wasn’t terribly worried. It is still bear season in Eastern Washington and I had my rifle and pistol at my side in case I saw one. I still haven’t taken my bear this season so I wouldn’t mind. Plus it would be beneficial for deer and elk hunters to get predators out of the area that might be pushing them around. In case I haven’t mentioned it before, I was using a Browning BLR Lightning in .300 WSM (Browning.com – they don’t have the actual rifle but it’s the BLR with an aluminum reciever and a rubberize camo paint on the wood stock and butt) and the pistol at my side was a Taurus PT845 in .45ACP (TaurusUSA.com).
Bear Print
Although I did not see any elk. Wait…let me back up a second. The reason I was scouting this area (I’m not going to say exactly where it is) in GMU 117 is because I had talked to a small group of guys a couple weekends ago who said they saw a whole heard of elk on the mountainside. If people actually saw elk, I’m all over checking it out. So I finally decided to go look for myself. It’s a little area kind of out of the way and I must say it’s the most idealic place I could possibly think of to find elk. There’s a nice meadow surrounded by tall bushes and trees that rise up along the mountainsides surrounding the meadow. A couple of the mountainsides are fairly clear with low brush and there are plenty of dense pockets of trees and brush surrounding the meadow. Like I said, I didn’t see any elk, and to be honest the lack of sign, tracks and bedding was disheartening. However, I did see some bedding, I did see a couple piles of elk sign, and the area looks good.
I did see a moose in the meadow. At first I thought it was a bear. The meadow grass is actually fairly tall and has some high spots and low spots. The low spots all have ponds and this moose was grazing on the other side of the meadow from me in one of those low spots. All I could see at the time was the moose’s hump and it was moving slowly. So I crept along the meadow and farther down the road to get a better look. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping to carry out a bear, but that’s ok. I was encouraged on my way back to find a nice large bear paw print in the mud. It’s the first actual bear print I have found since I’ve been bear hunting. I am not sure what that spells for elk hunting. Hopefully it won’t mean the elk are gone for a while. But it’s exciting nonetheless.
I suppose only time will tell. I will probably go out one more time to scout the area before the season starts. Most likely tomorrow. Hopefully I will see something good. I’m sure I will blog about if I do or something good happens. If anyone knows of good elk hunting area in Eastern Washington, please let me know! I’d love to check it out.
Tags: 49 Degrees North, bear hunting, bear print, bear sign, Eastern Washington, elk hunting, GMU 117, Hunting, hunting easter washington, moose, moose hunting
